ENHR conference 2011, Toulouse, France
Plenary 2:
International perspectives on social enterprise and hybridity in housing
organisations.
Social enterprise and hybridity in housing
organisations in Europe: a response to
financial and regulatory challenges?
13-4-2015
Darinka CZISCHKE, in collaboration with Prof. Vincent GRUIS
Dept of Real Estate & Housing, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology
(the Netherlands)
Delft
University of
Technology
Challenge the future
The concept of social enterprise
Wide variety of definitions:
•
“…a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or the community, rather than being
driven by the need to maximise profits for shareholders or owners” (DTI 2002)
•
“…nor-for-profit private organisations providing goods or services directly
related to their explicit aim to benefit the community…” (Defourny et al 2008)
•
“…organisations that have been designed as private enterprises, operating in a
market situation, that at the same time employ their means to fulfill a societal
objective that is interwoven with (or parallel to) the common interests, that
produces goods and services and that uses its profit entirely for the realisation
of its societal objective.” (NTMO 2003)
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Social enterprises:
Between the State, Market and Society
Source: Brandsen et al. (2005), based on Zijderveld (1999) and Pestoff (1992).
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Social enterprises:
Inherent hybrid nature
The Conceptual Classification Framework – The Social Economic Continuum for NI
and NW ROI (Crossan, 2009)
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Types of social housing providers in the EU
‘Public’
providers
L.A.
AT
Public
law
bodies
‘Private’
providers
Private law entities (civil or business), non profit
Assoc
*
BE
*
Coop
Companies/societies
Public owners
Private or mixed owners
*
*
*
*
*
Coop
Other
*
DE
DK
*
*
ES
FI
*
FR
*
*
*
*
IE
*
IT
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
PT
*
UK
*
*
*
NL
*
*
*
*
Forprofit
Found
*
NGOs
*
*
*
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*
*
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*
Source: Czischke, based on Bauer (2011)
Towards a typology of social enterprise in
social housing in the EU
Differences:
•
•
•
•
Legal status
Organisational forms
Size, structure
History
The social enterprise
model?
Commonalities:
• Mission (social, not profit
maximising)
• Continuity (permanent character)
• Long term strategic plan
• Stated values
• Defined target groups
• Legally ‘approved’ or self-defined
social (housing) mission.
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Adaptative strategies to different
institutional contexts and logics
Organisational archetypes in the social housing sector (Gruis 2008)
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 How are housing organisations in different
settings responding to current contextual
developments?
Two cases:
• The Netherlands
• England
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The Netherlands
• Housing associations under increasing financial pressure from
governmental taxes, reduced income from sales and tighter
conditions for finance.
• EU / Dutch government ruling:
• Split between ‘social’ activities which may be funded with state aid
and ‘commercial’ activities which may be not.
 Impact on financial architecture (and on funding levels?)
• Narrower target groups: income ceilings
 Impact on tenants’ profiles, sustainable communities, affordability?
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Responses by Dutch housing associations:
1. Narrowing scope of activities
Average balance of pairs and possible priorities in 2007 & 2010 (Gruis 2008)
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Responses by Dutch housing associations:
2. Reducing demolition & development
activities, increasing refurbishment of
existing stock
Source: Central Housing Fund (2011)
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Responses by Dutch housing associations:
3. From a transition to ‘social innovators’ to
‘social housing investors’
Source: Central Housing Fund (2011)
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Responses by Dutch Housing associations:
4. However - keep active role in society
• Aim to maintain a wide network and cooperation with
societal partner organisations to stay active in broader
societal interests.
• Regional specificities play pivotal role on housing association’s
continuous role as social enterprises in the communities where
they operate.
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England
• Major changes to social housing policy and regulation coupled to
wide-ranging welfare reform creating a new environment for
housing associations:
• Reduction in capital grants
• Possibility for social landlords to charge higher social rents to new
tenants (up to 80% market rents)
• Housing benefit significantly cut
• Localism bill, ‘big society’ discourse: emphasis on the role of third
sector actors in service delivery
• Government pledges 150,000 new social units in four-year term.
 Challenges and opportunities
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Responses from English housing
associations:
• Less capital funding => more debt => higher risk
• Financial strength and business strategy of each company
determining new development levels
• Most going for considerable lower development levels (caution)
• Concerns about affordability (insider – outsider dilemma)
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Responses from English housing associations:
Shifting position between the State, Market and
Society?
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Conclusion
• Social enterprises in housing significantly influenced by current
financial and regulatory constraints.
• However, in line with their social mission and their hybrid nature,
still aiming to counterbalance these pressures with staying active
in wider societal interests as much as possible.
• Factors determining different responses (State, market or
community orientations) include: financial strength, regional
context (housing markets), leadership, consistency of core
mission…
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